QUESTION OF THE WEEK- Should descendants of Meriwether Lewis be allowed to exhume him?

Jamie Grieco: "It's 200 years ago, there's nobody you can possibly take to court, so what's the point in disturbing the dead? Let him rest in peace."

Bill Heenan: "Yes, the family should definitely be allowed to have the body exhumed and put the question to rest."

Katie McCartney: "If the family wants to exhume Meriwether Lewis' body to find out the cause of death, it's absolutely within their rights."

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7 comments

Sandra Perry August 27th, 2009 | 11:33am

He absolutely should be exhumed. It's disgraceful that the entity in question has blocked this for so long.

Anne August 27th, 2009 | 11:46am

For someone who had no children, he sure has a lot of "descendants." Morbid curiosity, in this case literal, shouldn't be enough to justify exhuming someone. Neither should claiming a distant blood kinship. That one collateral relative wants to exploit a weak tie doesn't automatically give him authoity to speak for the "family." I'm also a collateral relative, and think that he should stay put, but also believe that my opinion is irrelevant with so many years and generations under the bridge.

Kira Gale August 27th, 2009 | 5:02pm

Yes, the family and all the rest of us deserve to know whether Meriwether Lewis was murdered. The Monument Committee exhumed Lewis's remains in 1848 when the monument was erected over his gravesite, and they said "it was more probable that he died by the hands of an assassin." I am the co-author of a book with James E. Starrs, "The Death of Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation." The book is available at the New Dominion Bookstore in Charlottesville, and I urge you to buy it and decide for yourself whether he was murdered. Starrs was the organizer of a Coroner's Inquest held in Lewis County, TN in 1996. He is a professor of forensic law and science at George Washington University. The book has the transcript of the inquest. It also has 20 documents pertaining to his death, and my commentary. I also wrote an 85 page narrative, "The Case for Murder," in which I propose a motive for his murder, and an assassination conspiracy. Regardless of whether we can truly understand who murdered him and why, we most likely can learn if he was murdered. That is why his remains should be exhumed, as the family descendants have wished. Please visit either of our websites. The family's website is www.solvethemystery.org and ours iswww.deathofmeriwetherlewis.com
This is a history mystery!

bulworth August 27th, 2009 | 7:58pm

go ahead
he will still be dead
so no harm
no reason for alarm
I am 100% ok
so long as the taxpayers don't have to pay

word to your great great great great great great grandmother

silly "controversey" August 28th, 2009 | 8:12am

exhuming him will most likely not solve the mystery, and it's odd that there is a controversy at all. There is a much stronger case for exhuming Jefferson's remains to put the final nail in the coffin (pun intended) of the controversy regarding the descendants fathered with Sally Hemings. It's a continuation of the injustice of slavery that those family members are barred from burial in the Monticello family cemetery.

John Giuliano August 31st, 2009 | 9:59am

Listen to the Alex Jones Show!

sandy March 5th, 2010 | 11:56pm

This man's body should be exhumed. There is overwhelming evidence that he met with foul play. I'm amazed that more historians can't see the glaring inconsistencies and unanswered questions that present themselves with every piece of (supposedly) sound evidence of suicide. The more I learned from especially from those attempting to defend the suicide theory, the more convinced I am of the contrary. Where are the critical thinkers here? So Lewis was "depressed" and "boozing it up"; He was also really mad and it appears, determined to reach D.c. with evidence to exonerate himself of suspected wrongdoing with finances, etc. Does a man who is conremplating suicide pack all those documents on two mules and head for Washington in anger? Does he shoot himself first in the side? (I'd aim for the head, heart, or mouth. And where was good ole Captain Neely, and the others the entire night he died? Hadn't it been reported that Lewis had twice tried to commit suicide on the boat just before leaving the boat to "hoof-it" the rest of the way to Washington? Furthermore, ask yourselves why a highly decorated and honored explorer who was now the Gov. of Louisianna, left alone in such distress? Why did Neely and the others take such (thoughtful) care of Lewis' papers after he died-seeing that they made it to their destination, but Lewis's body was simply left where it was and buried with no fanfare at all? Why was the owner of the inn tried and aquited of murder if it was a suicide to begin with, and the owner wasn't even in the state at the time! And finally. why was the guy who had motive, opportunity, and suspicious behavior,Neely< NOT tried at all? There are many more questions that logically come to mind and no one seems to care. As for what good could come from exhuming the body-to discover the TRUTH is reason enough.